confused15

jawanner wrote:Best Buy Black Friday has this tablet for $279, and the keyboard dock for $99. So for about $80 you can get new vs. refurbished. I've never bought anything refurbished before. I was planning on buying this at BB for a Christmas gift, but maybe this is a better deal? Can anyone tell me if it's worth it to fight the crowds on Black Friday to get a new one?

Refurbs from a manufacturer are usually factory reconditioned. This means that any problems or defects found when the product was released new have been replaced. Most of the time a refurb product is actually more reliable than a new device, but everyone has a different take on the matter and of course this is just my two cents.

By posting this information I’m not saying that you should jump on this offer, I’m merely referencing that I did.

leronis wrote:OK, I'm in! Thanks for all the helpful comments here. This will be my first tablet, and I want to make sure it's a good one!

Congrats!

SBeagles wrote:Very much appreciate the knowledge shared and opinions given! Been hesitant to pull the trigger on a tablet for a long time, but you've all helped me take the plunge!

Kudos!

AVNGME wrote:I pulled the trigger as well. All the comments helped in making my decision. My wife and I have been wanting a tablet for a while. Was just not sure what to get. Thanks for all the help!

Awesome!

w00teregrine wrote:I just bought one. This is too good to pass up. I've been watching this exact tablet for weeks. My boss has it and I am very familiar with it. I didn't even want the dock. Wal-Mart had a one day sale yesterday for just the tablet @@ $319. Almost bought it. Today, $349. I am always a little leery of refurbs but as I trust Asus a lot (I have an Asus gaming laptop and an Asus wifi router) I decided it was go time for my credit card. :D

This is a really good deal and Asus is a solid company, none of you will be disappointed!!!

Happy Turkey Day to all!

Now go stuff yourselves full and pass out on the coach like normal people do!

SvenJ

agardk wrote:This is only partly true. You can chanrge both off of a USB 3 port on a computer but not a USB 2 port. Either way though, it will be an agonizingly slow process. The thing just dont provice enough amps. As SvenJ says, you are far better off using teh supplied charger.

ANd if you want extra length, you will need a USB 3 extention, a USB 2 cable will not work.

Have you actually done this? USB 3.0 is higher data rates, and it allows for 1.5A charging as opposed to 0.5A (500mA) for USB 1/2. It does not change the supply voltage from 5v. I attempted to charge the dock from numerous higher current output chargers, such as the iPad 2A one. No luck. I read the fine (very fine) print on the included charger and found it outputs 5 AND 15 volts, the latter presumably is for the dock, as the tablet charges from USB just fine.

miniaturepeddler

Purchased the 32gb version from 1saleaday 2 days ago. The keyboard on Amazon is 100 bucks.
So this is a sweet deal for a tegra 3.
Most people will be happy with a 16gb tablet, I have mostly been so with my Toshiba thrive 16gb tablet.
But Asus support and service far outstrip Toshiba support and services. It's good to see these sales for tablets that easily support ics and jb.

Actually, if you click on the "I want one" button, Woot takes you to a page that, toward the bottom, offers a Square Trade 1 year warranty for $54.99. So they WILL warranty a refurb, for manufacturer's defects.

What SquareTrade will NOT warranty a refurb for, is accidental damage (i.e.-dropping it, spilling fluids on it, etc).

miniaturepeddler

Zavelin wrote:I'd recommend getting a full body case for your tablet. The GumDrop ones are the best I've found; had one for my TF101 and dropped, threw, and whapped that thing all over the place. I sold it yesterday in mint condition.

This one seems to do a great job of protecting your Transformer as well. However, I personally don't like how the tablet is a bit more exposed on the back, which presents more opportunities for the entrance of dirt, moisture, and debris. I intend to take my tablet along when doing fieldwork, so the ruggedness of the GumDrop is probably where I'll end up going.

The better you take care of your tablet, the more you can resell it for when it comes time to upgrade again.

I have had a bobj cover for the past year and can recommend it highly for its protection power for your tablet.
Neither case will protect you from full liquid immersion. But from drops I would feel safe and confident.
Worth picking up.

ronfronberg

ivanivanovich wrote:Chromebooks are based on a different idea than other notebooks and laptops, so it's hard to compare them without having a specific purpose in mind (what you want to do with the device).

Physically, Chromebooks have bigger screens, and they can't turn into tablets because their keyboards don't detach.

The two most recent Chromebooks are cheaper than this device and are new-in-the-box with new-device warranties.

If you presently spend nearly all your computer time in a browser, then a Chromebook may be a good device for you. If you don't, you'll probably be more satisfied with a notebook/tablet/Transformer.

leronis

So -- extended warranty. Is the consensus here that I need to jump on the $54.99 Squaretrade warranty offered through Woot, or not be able to get an extended warranty at all?

I've got an email in to ST but assume it will take a while for them to get back to me, and I don't want to miss this warranty if it's the only chance I'll get.

I do see that if you search on 'refurb' on ST they say that they only warrant used items from eBay, but if you go through the 'get me my warranty' process on their website it doesn't say anywhere that you can't buy for a used item. Seems a bit disingenuous of them to potentially let you buy a warranty only to tell you later that it isn't any good.

Also, I'm wondering when this change happened. It seems that I used to be able to get quotes on refurbed items. The quotes were higher, of course, but you could get them.

boomerb5

I used to work for a PC manufacturer. Ever since, I never balk at a refurb from a "trusted" company. There are a couple of reasons.

The refurbished label can be triggered by a number of things. Obviously a "defective" product that was returned is what comes to most people's minds first. But that is not the most common reason for a refurb label in most products.

Technically any product that is purchased can never again be sold as "new". So many cancelled orders wind up being labeled refurbished. And in doing so, the manufacturer must test and prove that there is nothing wrong with it. So most "refurbs" get an extra round of QA.

With electronic products, there are two times that they are most likely to fail: when they are first turned on, and after a long fruitful life. That additional QA that must be done prior to being sold as a refurb gives the manufacturer another chance to catch failures at the burn-in end.

I may not trust some shady, off-brand. But a "refurbished" tag on an Asus or Dell product will never scare me away. It actually entices me to purchase as the price will be lower.

sneefy

Shipping is typically pretty slow from Woot. Expect a couple weeks on average. Cheap shipping is not speedy.

fredal wrote:This is my 1st Woot! purchase. Is squaretrade included? How long is shipping usually? I bought this as a gift and wonder how long it will take to arrive. Thanks for all of the help wooters.

Impsterette

deathbyblue wrote:So I'm looking at this and I can't help but wonder "Can games be loaded on this?" I would love to know if like "League of Legends" could be run on this!

You can use Splashtop to stream video from your PC to the tablet for gaming, or you can use Onlive, which is decent.

The only negative thing I will say about the TF300 is that none of the firmware updates have really been able to fix the random stuttering, which for me was a huge deal breaker, and I ended up selling mine. Hanging while trying to browse the internet ended up being far too annoying for me. However, my friend says that some of the roms do increase fluidity and eases the stuttering.

redidas

Impsterette wrote:You can use Splashtop to stream video from your PC to the tablet for gaming, or you can use Onlive, which is decent.

The only negative thing I will say about the TF300 is that none of the firmware updates have really been able to fix the random stuttering, which for me was a huge deal breaker, and I ended up selling mine. Hanging while trying to browse the internet ended up being far too annoying for me. However, my friend says that some of the roms do increase fluidity and eases the stuttering.

When you noticed the stuttering - do you know whether you were running Ice Cream Sandwich or Jellybean?

From what I understand Jellybean really smoothed things up. It'd be disappointing if that was not the case for this tablet...

damorere

I had already planned to buy Surface Pro when it comes out (January? February? - who knows)and tried to resist this, but it is too good to pass up despite having several tablets and multiple laptops. I like the keyboard/battery addition which - while I have bluetooth keyboards for my tablets - makes this an excellent option. Anyway, I finally pulled the trigger for 1. It will probably go to my son when I get Surface Pro, but again, who knows.

charliecarroll

jawanner wrote:Best Buy Black Friday has this tablet for $279, and the keyboard dock for $99. So for about $80 you can get new vs. refurbished. I've never bought anything refurbished before. I was planning on buying this at BB for a Christmas gift, but maybe this is a better deal? Can anyone tell me if it's worth it to fight the crowds on Black Friday to get a new one?

This is just me and I am not the expert that many are or would say to be but, I would really have to think hard about the extra and how small it is. I would probably go with the new and the extra bucks. One thing to think about. If it is still offered here you can get it. If you show up on Black Friday right after the last one is sold, you are out either way. Not to give you yet one more worry but there it is. You know what they say, "A bird in the hand....". So, if you want to make sure you have one, this may be the way to go. Bad time of year for these things is it not? Best of luck on whatever you decide and I hope you get one if that is what you want.

CaptainFlow

When you detach the keyboard, can you flip the tablet over and attach the dock to the back? So that you can use the tablet as a tablet but still get some protection from the dock. Or does it sort of float around when you're not using it.

kcm2

nivram wrote:Actually, if you click on the "I want one" button, Woot takes you to a page that, toward the bottom, offers a Square Trade 1 year warranty for $54.99. So they WILL warranty a refurb, for manufacturer's defects.

What SquareTrade will NOT warranty a refurb for, is accidental damage (i.e.-dropping it, spilling fluids on it, etc).

I clicked I want one before I thought about the warranty. I emailed woot customer service and got a fairly canned vegetables answer that didn't answer the question. Does anyone know if I can purchase the ST warranty through woot?

Gatzby

kcm2 wrote:I clicked I want one before I thought about the warranty. I emailed woot customer service and got a fairly canned vegetables answer that didn't answer the question. Does anyone know if I can purchase the ST warranty through woot?

You should be able to purchase a warranty by going to this page and clicking the Square Trade banner.

The warranty purchase is done through Square Trade, not through your woot order.

norcalmama

I tried so hard not to buy one, but I want it!!!! Sent the link to my hubby at work, thinking he'll say no, being the practical one of us, but NO, he says sure, been thinking about a tablet too! Ugh, in for 1 ......Can't wait!

chinoninja

hello guys, thanks for these great info! so one more question I have is...I just found out that my credit card offers warranty extension for one extra year; Essentially, does that mean I get 1 year + 90 days of warranty from Asus? Thanks!

morriea

CaptainFlow wrote:When you detach the keyboard, can you flip the tablet over and attach the dock to the back? So that you can use the tablet as a tablet but still get some protection from the dock. Or does it sort of float around when you're not using it.

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